A Debt to Repay
by Slurpee Monster
Summary: Xellos has a debt, and Zelas has a hidden purpose for wanting him to settle it. The dragons in the valley of Kakaato Mountains are under attack and this time the Beast Master is on their side. Character death
1. Trouble is Brewing Beneath the Surface

Author's Notes/Desclaimer/Notes/More Notes: I'm back and showing my love for the Slayers the only way I seem to know how. That's right, by putting them through Hell. I know I sometimes forget to put the disclaimer, but I'm sure you all know by now that I'm not stealing the characters from this anime, I'm borrowing them, and giving them back… slightly worn and perhaps a little broken. Ahem... Anyway, the only reason I remembered this disclaimer was because it's a SONG inspiration! I wanted everyone to know that the song that inspired this fic was "Angel's Son" by Sevendust. Songs usually inspire me for some reason. Did you know that my other fic; "On the Pain of Death," was inspired by the song "All Messed up" by Sum 41? Well you do now!

Everyone should be in character for this fic. That's right; Xellos has his brain for a change. Ok, well these notes have gone on long enough. Onto the story!

**Trouble is Brewing Beneath the Surface**

Patience had never been a problem for the trickster priest, yet somehow something seemed unsettling to him. His master hadn't been her usual self since he returned with his report from the Darkstar mess. It was unnerving, and he was beginning to get curious which was even more unnerving. He shouldn't meddle with his lord's affairs, he knew, unless she told him otherwise.

It was a game for his Lord Beast Master; it had always been. She knew he hated being left in the dark, and so she would sometimes purposefully withhold information from him, and for him to obtain it, he would have to beg and keep it up for some time, or wait to be sent someplace in order to find out for himself.

He had been keeping his distance however, afraid that by asking or saying something displeasing that his lord would lose her tolerance and would punish him. It had happened before, and Xellos wasn't about to let it happen again. Oh no. He would avoid that at all costs.

"Xellos, there you are," a soft nearly placid voice spoke from behind him, and the trickster whirled around to find his master Zelas standing very very close to him.

"Lord Beast Master," Xellos said leaning back a little as he tried to reclaim some means of personal space. "I wasn't expecting that you'd want to see me today."

"You've been avoiding me," she accused him, though her lack of anger really was beginning to make the trickster priest nervous.

"Why yes actually, you figured me out again," he remarked smiling to mask his nervousness.

"That's too bad, because I've needed you to do something."

"Anything for you Lord Beast Master."

"It's not for me Xellos… this time, it's for you."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Xellos admitted, his back pressed against the wall. "Please humour me a little Lord Beast Master, you know I have no idea what's going on."

Zelas took a step back to allow her servant some breathing space, and with her back turned to him, she spoke, "You have a debt to repay Xellos, and I would suggest you repay it now because you won't get another chance to do so in the future."

"Debt?" he asked scratching his head.

"Yes, that debt you owe to the Water Dragon King."

"Oh."

"Dynast has decided to slaughter all the dragons in the Kakaato Mountains, that's why you should go. Now."

"And I was putting it off so well too."

The serious expression that his lord wore begged him to question after her. It took him a few moments to gather the courage, but when he did, he was rewarded with an answer.

"I've been thinking a lot since Darkstar," his lord began. "It seems that since the beginning, things have changed more than we can even remember. Isn't it strange how we've had more trouble with our own kind than the dragons these past few decades?"

"Yes, it is a little unnerving," Xellos replied, but with a cheery grin and a raised index finger he added, "But it sure has kept our lives interesting hasn't it?"

Zelas adopted an identical smirk as she slowly strode down the hall, leaving her priest to ponder over what he had just been told. The trickster priest had been left in a very awkward predicament. Lending aid to the dragons would be like announcing to the world that his loyalty had shifted; that his master's loyalty had…

Realization startled him as he vanished into the astral plane. He finally knew why his master had begun to act differently; she had decided to change sides in a sense. Of course, it was always a gamble when trying to guess at what Lord Beast Master was thinking, but he had been told to settle his debt, and that was something he would definitely do.

The valley was in a state of pure chaos when Xellos appeared on the scene. Dragons were fighting desperately to stay alive against the monsters' vicious onslaught, and his race wasn't doing such a bad job in making sure that everything in their path would either be dead or destroyed. Golden bodies were strewn about, and the smell of fresh blood was thick and hung heavily in the air.

A lesser creature; one of his kind, was stalking a dragon right in front of him. Of course since Xellos was also a monster, the creature didn't pay any attention to him. Smirking, the trickster appeared between the monster and his dragon quarry. Annoyed, the creature was about to curse him, but then he realized just who Xellos was, and his rage was quickly quelled.

"Hey, it's the beast master come to join us," the monster hollered to a few of his comrades.

Xellos was hit by a delicious, and not entirely unwanted, wall of fear and dread from the nearby dragons. He revelled in it for a moment before remembering what his true goal was.

Adopting his cheerful nonchalant persona, the trickster moved towards the stupid creature who cackled in his pleasure, that is, until Xellos' hand shot out and grabbed him around the neck. The monster sputtered and clawed at the priest's hand without success. "W-What are you doing…?" the creature gasped.

"Oh my, did I forget to mention that, this time, I am not on your side? How forgetful of me," Xellos said as he summoned his dark aura to disintegrate the monster in his clutches. He brushed of his gloved hands, summoned to him his staff, and looked around at the few of dynast's weaker subordinates who had watched and were now staring at him speechless.

The trickster raised his staff, and the ruby at its tip began to glow red. "This is going to get awfully boring," he remarked. His eyes snapped open, and the monsters scrambled to get out of the way as flames burst from beneath them. Their screams were drowned out by the continuing struggle throughout the valley, but the golden dragons that had witness Xellos' actions remained frozen in shock, say for one.

"Xellos!" A horribly familiar voice rang in his ear, and before the trickster priest could react, he found himself hanging in the air having been lifted up by the front of his shirt by a scary blond woman. "What the heck is going on, what are you monsters planning!?"

"Oh, it's Miss Filia," Xellos chirped as he vanished from her grasp only to reappear behind her, facing away and dusting himself off yet again. "I've only just got here actually, what about you? How have you been? Destroyed any towns recently perhaps?"

"Don't try to change the subject on me," she snapped scowling at him. "The valley is in shambles because of you monsters!"

He raised his finger. "But Filia," he whined. "Didn't you see me take out those bad guys?" Of course she did, but he wanted to hear it from her, but she bit her tongue stubbornly. With a smile Xellos leaned forward so that his nose was almost touching hers, "This really isn't the time for us to be arguing, don't you think?"

She didn't budge. Instead she met his stare head on. "You better not be toying with us Xellos…" she growled at him.

"I'm so insulted," the trickster sarcastically remarked. "Me? Toy with you? If you feel that way maybe I shouldn't help you after all."

"We never asked for your help!" she shot back. She turned just in time to catch a lesser monster in the face with her mace.

"Of course you didn't," Xellos said as he drifted by her. "If Filia wants to beat all the monsters by herself, then I won't get in the way."

The golden dragons that had been watching them squabble now took to the air to continue their fight. There was no time for questions. Another dragon that had flown from the mountains seemed to be searching for someone. When he spotted Filia, he circled over head, crashed through a few monsters that had appeared, and landed in front of her out of breath.

"Filia…" he breathed.

"Calm down," she told him softly. "Take a few deep breaths before you try to speak."

The dragon did as he was told and took a few moments to regain himself before blurting out, "Milgazia… All the healers… dead. Needs… help."

"Oh my," Xellos commented from behind. The golden dragon that had come to Filia spun around and nearly died of a heart attack when he saw the Beast Master standing right there.

"It sounds like Milgazia has hit some trouble. So Miss Filia, do you still want to defeat all the monsters here by yourself? Or are you going to let me help?"

The proud ex-priestess turned her back to him. "Just don't get in the way," she said changing into her dragon form. She learned from the dragons of the Kakaato mountains how to do it properly.

Holding his staff in the crook of his elbow, Xellos clapped his hands together and smiled. "Then leave it to me to clear a path!"

"Through the monsters," she reminded him irritably. She spread her wings and tore into the sky, and Xellos turned to regard the fearful messenger dragon with an open eye.

"Is Dynast around?" he questioned and the dragon quickly shook his head.

"N-No… not that we've seen."

"I see," Xellos said, returning his pleasant smile. He raised his staff and the dragon backed off immediately. The red orb shone, and flames cut across the valley. The black and golden dragons of the valley stopped what they were doing in pure shock and fear. When they realized that they hadn't been burnt by these flames, they continued their struggle with the remaining monsters, clashing, the sound of fangs and claws rang across the valley, and Xellos vanished to follow after Filia by means of the astral plane.

Surely he had done enough for the Water Dragon King's people that his debt had been repaid. Surely he had. He kept telling himself this but he knew that if the dragon lord was still around, he'd argue with the monster on that point.

The trickster watched as Filia landed a few feet in front of him. She paused and turned her head to search for him, but of course he remained unseen. His presence was there however; she could feel it.

After taking a look around and finding only the remaining corpses of a few black dragons, Filia shrank down to her human form. She stumbled forward a bit and clutched her nose against the smell of burning scales and blood.

"Feeling a bit unwell?" Xellos questioned from the astral plane.

The ex-priestess ground her teeth together when she heard his cheerful voice, which at a time like this could be, and was, very irritating. "You're probably enjoying this!" she accused, and laughter rang around her from its unforeseen source.

"My dear Filia, of course I have to enjoy myself a little; I am a monster after all."

He materialized beside her and pointed to a path which led part way up the mountain before it turned abruptly. "Milgazia is up that way."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at him. He was still very untrustworthy, and he hadn't said why he was helping…

"Absolutely."

Filia led the way up the path while Xellos hung back. He had his arms folded behind his head lazily, and he looked down at the war raging below out of boredom. When he glanced back up, he found that he had indeed been right, and he beamed smugly at Filia. Even though the ex-priestess had her back to him, she growled, sensing his I-told-you-so, disposition.

A few monsters, deemed weak by Xellos, were hanging around the path, taunting a weakened Milgazia who was in his human form and had his back to the wall of the mountain. The elder golden dragon had been brought to one knee as he struggled to keep the fiends from killing him. Each attack they threw drew closer to hitting as Milgazia swiftly began losing his defences. Bleeding heavily, the elder couldn't even risk looking away to see who had come to his aid.

"Lord Milgazia!" Filia called to him out of concern, and a few of the monsters that had been attacking the elder turned to her.

"I think you can handle this one," Xellos told Filia as he sat down on a rock to watch.

"Suddenly not feeling so confident?" she questioned with a wry smile. She was trying to poke fun at the lazy priest for backing out so soon. "Don't tell me that little fire display back there was all you had."

The trickster laughed. "Oh no Filia. These guys are much too weak to give me any sport, however, if you think you'll need my help, maybe I was giving you a little too much credit."

"Humph, you wish monster," she said as she readied her mace. The creatures had launched themselves at her, and in return, she hit them off the mountain with her trusty hard-hitting weapon.

"You know that isn't going to" Xellos began raising his index finger, but she cut him off.

"Shut up Xellos! I know what I'm doing!"

The trickster let his finger drop as Filia began chanting the words to her strongest spell. "Chaotic Disintegrate!" she shouted, and the spell tore across the mountain, dissolving the monsters who had been attacking Milgazia, and the ones who had recovered from her mace and had come back for a second round.

"Bravo Miss Filia," Xellos cheered from his place. He hopped down, went to the edge of the cliff, and scanned the valley to see if the other monsters had taken an interest in Filia's spell, and he appeared delighted when he saw that a whole bunch of them had, though he was just trying to bother Filia. Really he knew they had to go. Sherra and Norst could be anywhere in the valley, and though Xellos decided he could most likely take out one of them with little problem, he knew two would be tricky.

"Looks like we need to make a hasty retreat," A smiling Xellos exclaimed gesturing to the swarm of Dynast's minions who were charging towards them.

Milgazia had finally collapsed from his injuries, and Filia was trying to summon a quick, but strong, healing spell. She wasn't listening to the trickster priest at all, and Xellos was beginning to lose his patience.

"Oh Filia, there's a storm coming and we're going to be caught in the middle of it," he told her.

"I have to heal him now or he might not make it," she replied.

Xellos vanished, but quickly reappeared by the two dragons. He grabbed Milgazia with one hand and snagged Filia with the other before dragging them both through the astral plane. They emerged from the darkness in a crevice and Filia recoiled from him.

"What do you think you're doing Xellos!?" she demanded angrily.

The trickster slumped to the ground, and the motionless Milgazia fell across him. Xellos sighed. It had taken a lot of energy to drag two bodies through the astral plane. Valgarv had made it look easy. Too easy…

"Oh, you know, just saving your lives," he replied, aware of the irony of it. "By the way Filia, you haven't happened to see a girl with a sword or a man with a magic outfit running around the valley anywhere have you? They're about so high," Xellos measured from the ground. "Probably killing dragons in large amounts…"

Filia gently took Milgazia and laid him on the ground so that she could summon a healing spell for him.

"All I've seen is a cocky smart mouthed monster who won't shut up and let me concentrate," Filia retorted.

"Ouch, that hurt," Xellos said feeling a little ticked off at her. Apparently Sherra and Norst hadn't made themselves known yet. Wouldn't they be a nice surprise for the stuffy ex-priestess? He shook his head and forced a smile. His goodwill shouldn't extend to her; he was here to repay the Water Dragon King after all.

"Very well, this really isn't my fight," Xellos replied shrugging. "Why should I trouble myself dealing with a useless conceited dragon? I think I'll just sit back and watch you all die. It seems to be what you want anyway."

Tears came to Filia's eyes as her hands began to glow with healing magic. "You think it's easy for me..?" she questioned lowering her head to hide her sorrow stricken state. "You think it's easy watching everyone around me die? I don't like war. I hate war. I hate seeing my people die."

Struck by her sudden confession, Xellos sighed and held his head. He could pick up on emotions; he should have known. "Oy Filia, you really do know how to get under my skin," he chided her. "Don't worry; I'll still help you save the valley." He winked at her smiling pleasantly. "It's why I'm here after all."

"Why…?" another voice questioned. Milgazia's eyes cracked open, and his golden orbs landed on the trickster priest.

"Now that is a secret," Xellos replied waggling his finger.

As Milgazia slowly got to his feet with a little help from Filia, Xellos stretched and poked his nose around the corner of the chasm. No one was coming. "All clear," he chirped. "We should probably get out of here before they trap us in."

The elder dragon gazed at his long hated enemy sceptically. Then, without a hint of emotion, he strode over to the trickster who turned to him grinning.

"I know we've had our differences in the past Milgazia, but I really am being honest," Xellos said. No anger, no fear; no anything came from the elder dragon, only the faint hint of mistrust, not that Xellos could really blame him. During the last war, they had been on opposite sides after all.

"It will be strange having you as an ally," Milgazia commented dryly, walking past him towards the light that poked through at the end of the chasm.

"I could say the same thing," the trickster remarked as he and Filia followed after the elder.

When they emerged from the crevice, they were greeted by a bombardment of monsters. Xellos took care of a couple with his staff while Filia and Milgazia both used their Flame breath to blast their way through.

"So what's your battle plan exactly?" Xellos questioned the elder as they headed into the fray. Milgazia glanced back at him with his usual blank expression. The valley's mountains were supposed to have given them time to come up with a plan, but this hadn't been the case.

"There is no plan," Milgazia replied.

"That's what I thought," Xellos mused. The state of the valley, chaos, death, everything showed little to no planning. At this rate, all the dragons would be dead within a few days, less if either Dynast's general or priest got involved. "Alright, then how about I buy you all some time to come up with one."

"I'm listening."

"Take the remaining dragons into the mountains, or gather the remaining troops as they say," Xellos said, and the monsters around him were easily dealt with by Filia and Milgazia while the trickster priest talked. "I will stay here and keep our monster friends entertained for a bit, so you can come up with whatever plan you like alright?"

Milgazia gave a slight nod while Filia hefted her mace over her shoulder.

"I'm not going to let you take full credit for saving us Xellos," she blatantly told him. "I'm going with you."

Xellos sighed. Why on earth? What kind of silly argument was that? He turned to Milgazia, hoping that he'd disagree, but he didn't. That dragon was too passive…

"Very well Filia," Xellos remarked. "Try to keep up."

The two went on ahead while Milgazia transformed and took to the sky. His roar signalled the other dragons in the valley, and they left their battles to join with him. Many of the monsters went after them, but Xellos was quick to react. The orb at the end of his staff shone, energy shot forward, and before the other monsters could do anything to protect themselves, they were gone, dissolved into nothingness.

"No matter how many we destroy, more appear in their place," Xellos thought out loud. "Well Filia, you didn't tell me how you ended up in the Kakaato Mountains."

"Hyah!" Filia swung her mace, and a monster went flying. "You haven't told me why you're here either."

"Oh that? Why I'm just following orders," the trickster replied.

"You expect me to believe that your Lord would actually order you to save us?"

"It's your turn now Filia," Xellos chided, and he sliced through a few more monsters with his staff. They were everywhere, like flies, no, worse than flies.

"I came here looking for a place to live after Valgarv hatches," she smiled remembering the small blue egg she had left behind with Jillas and Gravos. "The village I live in is nice, but the people there aren't used to dragons very much, and even a little dragon might frighten them." She sighed, and this had been the only place she felt she could have raised Valgarv properly too… "Besides, he needs a male role model, and Milgazia is perfect."

"Just as long as Valgarv doesn't inherit his sense of humour," Xellos commented teasingly.

**_More Notes:_** I really don't have much to say. Gee. This is what I get for making my notes up top so friggin huge.


	2. Fighting the Fight of Life

Author's Notes: Grumble. Grumble. I get angry when I'm concentrating on finishing a fic. Even if it's moving along nice and dandy, sometimes I just need a few hours away to get my bearings back. I hate coming up with titles for things! I hate having any kind of "due date" (I told myself I would finish this before my Christmas break was over) and I hate battle scenes! I love dialogue and the characters though. Ah heck. I love writing fanfiction.

**Fighting the Fight of Life**

Another unlucky monster found himself at the end of Filia's Flame Breath, and Xellos sent another blast of energy to dissolve a few more of the pesky creatures, but before either had time to take a breath, more were on them. Xellos had to admit to himself that he was beginning to get tired, not the good kind of tired either. He glanced over at Filia; she was panting and her mace was beginning to get awfully close to the ground. How much time did Milgazia need to gather everyone and get them out of there?

Xellos sprinted forward, caught Filia, and swiftly his body lifted from the ground over the heads of many monsters. He still had enough energy to annoy Dynast's stupid lackeys by running away. The golden dragon in his arms was struggling. What was she trying to do? Knock them both out of the air?

"Let me down Xellos!" she hollered.

"It would be wise for you to save your energy for fighting Filia," Xellos told her. "I don't plan on getting to far."

She stopped and looked up at him with large blue eyes. "What do you mean? Are we going to lose?"

The trickster smile down at her cheerfully. "Oh no Filia, you've got me all wrong. Every war has its difficult moments, but I've lived through them all, so don't worry. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"What about the others?"

"Them? Oh. They're expendable of course."

Xellos continued smiling even though Filia's mace had left a rather large mark across his face. He had been kidding. She didn't have to take it so seriously.

The monsters in the valley lunged at the trickster who laughed as he dodged and swerved around them. He had sure gotten their attention. More concentrated energy shot from the ruby of his staff, and more monsters fell. Finally he stopped and let Filia down. They had come to the edge of the valley, and the mountains standing in front of them were blocking their flight. There were still thousands of monsters in the valley. The bowl was about to overflow.

Filia's Chaotic Disintegrate spell took care of a few of their unruly foes, but it didn't hold them off for long. Xellos adopted a rhythm in his attacking which rarely shifted; attack, pause to wait while they regrouped, and then attack again.

"Everything is going according to plan," Xellos happily announced to Filia who had slumped to the ground beside him. Opening one eye, the trickster regarded his worn-out companion. "Miss Filia? Oh dear, don't tell me you're tired already."

He was tiring out too, but despite this, he was still able to keep up his cheery disposition, and his attacks. There was no way he was going to lose to a bunch of lesser monsters. Then she appeared. Sherra; general of the Dark Lord residing in the North, laughed as she pointed her sword down at him. She was floating much too high for the blade to touch him, but the threat was clear enough.

After taking another swipe at the nearby monsters with his staff, he nudged Filia with the toe of his shoe.

"There's been a change of plan Filia," he said. "I need you to go find Milgazia and warn him that Dynast's General is here. Can you do that? Tell him to get himself and his people far away from the valley."

"What about you…? Filia murmured, forcing herself back to her feet. Seeing Sherra hovering above them suddenly left the sleepy golden dragon wide awake. "You're not going to fight all by yourself are you?"

"I'm touched you're worried about me," he replied in all seriousness. "But this isn't a fight you'd be able to survive. It's been their plan all along to wear us out with these lesser subordinates of theirs."

"So you think you know our plan Xellos?" Sherra questioned, an ugly smirk spreading across her face. "I bet you don't know anything."

Despite her confidence, Xellos managed to keep his composure. The monsters surrounding them had suddenly stopped attacking. Sherra had probably signalled them to halt, but Xellos hadn't seen this. Filia was standing beside him, glaring up at this new foe as though she really believed that she could beat Sherra, that he could beat Dynast's general.

"Alright then, enlighten me," Xellos remarked moving his arms up as he shrugged. "What don't I know?"

"Your Lord Beast Master is going to die," Sherra gleefully announced.

Frowning, Xellos glowered at the powerful general hanging in the sky. Was she lying? His lord hadn't mentioned anything along these lines to him. That must be it. She was lying in order to catch him off guard.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," the trickster replied.

"Where do you think Lord Dynast is?" she asked, revelling in her knowledge.

"If you want to play Sherra, I'm ready."

Ignoring his latest comment, Dynast's general continued, "He's on Wolfpack Island, and with the aid of Lord Deep Sea Dolphin, he's going to kill the Greater Beast! Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if she was already dead!"

That was it. Xellos lost it. He charged into the sky and swung his staff at Sherra who caught the attack with her sword. She ran the blade a little down the wood before forcing him back with a strong shove.

"She tried to save you by sending you someplace else. Can you believe it? She actually thought she could defend herself alone against both Lord Dynast and Deep Sea Dolphin!"

"You're starting to get rather irritating," Xellos spat as he readied his staff to face off against her.

"Xellos!" Filia called from below. The remaining monsters were closing around her greedily. When the trickster realized this, he vanished, reappearing at her side.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?"

"It's not like I didn't try," Filia retorted. She bit her lip when Xellos' expression hardened. What Sherra said really had gotten to him.

"Xellos…? Are you ok?"

"We won't have much time. I'll keep the monsters here distracted, that shouldn't be to difficult eh? And you concentrate on getting yourself out of here," he replied, ignoring her question. "Help Milgazia get the others far away." Xellos managed a half-hearted smile. "Ok?"

"You're planning on losing!" she accused. "You can't!"

Xellos raised his staff in front of him, and Sherra urged the monsters below her to attack. He deflected many of their blows, but some were beginning to get through. "If you don't want to die right here, hurry up and get yourself out!"

The ex-priestess didn't have much choice. She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and concentrated on teleporting herself to Milgazia's location. Before she was taken away, her eyes opened and she saw Xellos struggling with the horde of monsters he was trying to fend off. Without a second thought, she reached out and caught him by the cape and pulled him into the teleportation circle.

Filia hadn't been expecting the extra momentum she got by pulling Xellos after her, so when they reappeared in the clearing where the dragons had sought refuge, Filia fell forward and hit the dirt. The trickster caught himself before he could follow her example, and looked around to regain his bearings.

"Very good Filia, you actually brought us to the right place," he said with a hint of mockery. He hadn't anticipated getting dragged along with her, but he had, so now his plans had to change. Sherra probably though of him as a coward; he wanted to go straight back there and wipe that smile off her face…

The ex-priestess picked herself up off the ground and brushed herself off before turning to Xellos.

"You could at least thank me."

"For what? Please remind me."

"Ooo! You're so annoying! I don't even know why I bothered to help you in the first place!"

"You help me? I knew what I was doing unlike a certain little tag-along of mine!"

"Tag-along!? You're the one who decided to stick his nose into our business!"

"Ha ha, please, don't make me laugh. This is just as much my business as it is yours!"

"How!? You suddenly showing up hasn't made our lives any easier!"

"Well that's your problem isn't it, not mine! You should just go back to your little house in the countryside and leave war to the grownups!"

"You're just angry because you were going to lose and you know it!"

"So you think you know my true power!? Would you like me to give you a demonstration right here!?"

The dragons in the clearing gasped and shrank away from the angry Beast Master, and that shut Filia up fairly fast. Xellos' had revealed his angry amethyst eyes, and the ex-priestess was speechless. She had never been on the receiving end of such anger. She couldn't breath; she couldn't swallow.

Milgazia stepped in the way of the trickster's horrible glare, and Filia sank to the ground.

"Please don't be rash Beast Master… we've all done what you asked," the elder said calmly, trying to hide his anxiety.

Dragons really were too easy to scare, and Xellos had been counting on it. True he had been fairly ticked-off at Filia, but he had been trying to start a fight with her, and it worked; he had been completely revived by their negative emotions, and he had vented a lot of his frustration. All in all, he felt much better.

Stretching, Xellos' eyes once again vanished behind a mask of cheerfulness. "That was quite refreshing," he admitted ruefully scratching the back of head. "It seemed I had lost more energy than I was expecting, but now I've got it all back."

"You mean, that was an act?" Milgazia questioned flatly, and the trickster felt relief sweep over the elder along with the other dragons, say one. Filia didn't move.

He decided to write it off for now having remembered what he had wanted to tell Milgazia.

"Sorry Milgazia, but Sherra appeared to complicate things, so I'm going to have to ask you to take everyone away from the valley," he smiled. "But don't worry, I'm sure things will work out."

"What are you planning...?" Milgazia asked, and Xellos detected a hint of uncertainty in the elder's voice. Xellos understood. It was going to be difficult to move that many dragons away from the valley without being detected, even if they did move by ground.

"Oh you know me," the trickster began grinning. "A few fiery explosions, lots of death, and maybe an ice cream cone once everything has been taken care of."

Milgazia nodded solemnly. "I hate to say this… but our fate depends on your success."

She'd known about this all along. Their attack hadn't been a surprise. In the darkness cigarette smoke gently floated into the air of the Greater Beast Master's main hall. She was sitting on her throne, waiting for their next move. Half of her island was gone and most of her minions had been destroyed. Still, she wasn't planning on dying just yet.

Silently, she eased herself up and took a few confident steps forward, so that she was standing in the middle of the hall. Whatever was left of her island was floating over Deep Sea Dolphin's underwater fortress. Smirking, she knew she was going to give Deep Sea a surprise, but not quite yet.

Both of her enemies were somewhere on the island. How long had she been waiting for this day? They had declared war on her months ago, but it had been a false war then, as they waited for her to let her guard down. They were fools. Dynast was a fool. Did he really think the Greater Beast could be taken by surprise? Oh she had been ready alright. Her followers had put up an excellent fight, and even though most of them had been destroyed, she knew that her enemies were probably starting to get tired and irritated by all the walls of defence she had placed in preparation. In fact, the whole island was one giant trap. The other Dark Lords couldn't leave to regain their energy, and Zelas hadn't even lifted a finger against them yet.

How did they expect to win a war in her territory? It was amazing how stupid they thought she was. Her sending Xellos away was only another part of her plan to lull the other Dark Lords into a false sense of superiority, to lure them onto Wolfpack Island.

"I bet you think you're pretty funny Beast Master…" Dynast said, appearing in her doorway. He seemed haggard and thoroughly angered by her resistance. His silver armour glinted through the shattered glass of her falling empire. This was going to get a whole lot more interesting.

Zelas turned to him, a look of self-satisfaction plain on her face. Her smirk remained as she gazed past him at the other figure behind him. It wasn't Deep Sea Dolphin.

"So you did bring Norst," she noted. "Let me guess, Deep Sea Dolphin sent you and your little follower through all my traps. It was a smart move on her part, but not for you."

Norst moved to defend his lord, but he was too late. Zelas shot forward, and a few wolves that had been hiding in the shadows sprang from the darkness. She got a hit in before Dynast was able to jump back out of her way. Clutching his arm, he summoned his energy and fired it at the Greater Beast. She easily dodged this attack, but some of her servants weren't so lucky. A few of them yowled before dissipating, and the remaining wolves whined and inched away from this threat. Norst came at her, but she knocked him away as her body began shifting into her beast form. Speedily, she leapt at him. Her claws caught Dynast's priest through the neck, and her energy shot out tearing into him.

Dynast's priest didn't have time to summon a spell to his aid; he slumped against the wall, too stunned and weakened to move. All he could do watch as his lord, gleaming in his silver armour, face against their enemy.

The Dark Lord of the North caught Zelas with his sword as she sprang on him, snapping and clawing, she managed to knock his helmet off before falling back. Her followers gathered around her, snarling and bristling. Sharp teeth gleamed, monster eyes flashed, and as their lord launched herself at him once again, and her wolves swarmed him. Dynast swung his sword and used his power to blow many of Zelas' followers away, but some clung on, and the Greater Beast Master's jaws bit into his throat as her claws tore into his armour. Hoping to shake her off, Dynast dragged himself and Zelas into the astral plane.

She let go, and they clashed. Dynast's injuries were enough to hinder him, and the Greater Beast Master struck the fatal blow. His body began to break apart, and he glared up at her as he sank to his knees.

"Damn you… Zelas…" he spat

The dragons began to clear out, though Milgazia lingered behind, and then there was Filia who stubbornly hadn't moved at all. Xellos strode over to her, and bent down to look into her eyes. She turned away from him, and he sighed. He couldn't detect any anger or sadness or even fear. She was just…. Numb.

"You should really go with others Filia," the trickster told her. "You aren't going to be of much help to anyone if you stay here."

"Don't tell me what to do monster," she murmured at him.

"Do you want me to apologise?"

"Filia," Milgazia called, and the ex-priestess stood up and went to his side. "We'll leave the rest to you Beast Master."

Xellos watched Filia as she turned away. She bore the same blank expression as Milgazia, and the trickster began to wonder if she was feeling ok. Maybe he underestimated her ability to recover from the scare he gave her. She was just another dragon after all. Just another golden dragon…

He used the astral plane to return to the valley, and found a few monsters lingering around a few dragon bodies. A groan signalled to the beast master that one of them was still alive. Dynast's minions realized this too, and they closed in, only to get sliced to pieces by Xellos who attacked them from the astral plane.

Confused, the dragon slowly forced himself to stand. His golden scales shone with blood, and he ground his teeth as something inside him cracked.

"You're on your last limb aren't you?" Xellos mused, and the dragon's golden orbs searched around fearfully for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?"

"I don't think you're going to survive this war."

"Well it's not like I was planning on living through this. I will die defending this valley."

"Ah. A hero then. Do you have enough life in you to gather the injured?"

"Why?"

"Because, they'll all die if they stay lying down. They might as well fight while they can, don't you think?"

Xellos left the dragon to continue his search for Sherra. His eyes swept over the quieting valley. She was still here. He knew she was. Then he saw her, sword at her side, waiting. He grinned as he quickly, moved in for the assault. Attacking from the astral plane was his specialty after all.

Sherra shrieked when Xellos pierced through her abdomen. She grabbed her sword and jabbed it behind her, just as the trickster returned to the astral plane.

_**More Notes:**_ Did you know I originally meant for this fic to be only one chapter long? Yeah, but then I looked it over and I realized that the chapter I had been writing was extremely long, so I made myself break it into pieces. That's why all three/four chapters were put up at the same time.


	3. The End of an Era

Author's notes: Finally, I came up with a title I actually like!

**The End of an Era**

Xellos reappeared only moments after his last assault, and Dynast's general stood seething in front of him with sword drawn and her lips pulled back into a snarl. "That was a cheap shot Xellos!" she snapped clutching the hole that had been torn through her.

"Thought I'd be gone longer did you Sherra?" the trickster questioned her lightly. "Did you really think I'd miss out on the fun?"

He raised his staff and energy burst from the jewel. The general rolled to dodge the attack then quickly returned to her feet. She charged at him, and Xellos ducked as the blade whizzed by. She swung, he dodged, she lashed out, and he caught the sword with his staff.

"Oh my, have you gotten weaker?" he teased.

"Shut up!" she hollered. "Your lord is dead hear me!? Dead!"

They continued their struggle, moving in and out of the astral plane. Sherra tried to keep Xellos in her sight, because she knew that if she lost him, he could try another astral attack. Finally, she was able to catch him with an upward slash, but his staff came down and struck her hard across the head, and he sent a beam of energy which ripped her all the way through. Screaming, Sherra remerged from the astral plane and stumbled forward. Xellos followed suit and went to finish her off, only she wasn't quite down yet and she sliced at him with her blade. The trickster took the attack in leg before kicking the sword away.

"Now now, you shouldn't play with sharp things like that Sherra," Xellos scolded her. He tapped her on the nose, smiling an irritating cheerful smile. "It's been fun, but I've got more important matters to see to."

He stabbed the end of his staff downwards, dealing the final strike, and

Sherra keeled over before fading from existence. Now, where was Norst? Xellos took one final look around then, satisfied that there were no other major threats around; he began to destroy the remaining monsters who were attempting to flee after the death of their commander.

It was then he noticed that he had company, a wave of shock and fear swept from the injured dragons when they saw him. They were standing in a group, some where barely able to stand.

"I see you've gathered the survivors," Xellos told the hurt dragon he had spoken with before.

"Yes commander," the dragon replied, recognizing his voice. "We found quite a few of us, and we're ready to follow your orders."

"Is that so? Well then, it's simple. All I want you to do is destroy any remaining monsters in the valley, excluding myself of course."

"What about the ones who can't walk very well sir?"

Xellos scratched his head. Conducting a group of dragons was a little different than what he was used to. The Greater Beast Master's minions would let the dying lie and move on; it was a much more affective approach, but the trickster had a feeling that he couldn't get away with it here.

"I will take care of it," a placid voice suddenly spoke, and Milgazia flew in and landed by the small group of survivors. Filia wasn't with him Xellos noted.

"Alright Milgazia, I'll leave you to it." The trickster said retaining his cheerful expression. His job was nearly done. All he had to do now was make sure the valley was cleared of all the remaining pests, and then he could return to Wolfpack Island.

Once again, the Greater Beast Master found herself waiting. She knew her island very well, and she could tell when she had unwanted company. Deep Sea Dolphin was somewhere nearby, watching her, patiently lingering in the darkness for the right time to strike.

Dynast had been a fairly easy opponent only because Deep Sea had used him to get past all the traps and barriers Zelas had put up, but now she was at a disadvantage. While the other Dark Lord remained fresh and ready for battle, the Greater Beast had taken a few hits and wouldn't be as affective in the fight to come.

Her dwindling minions remained loyally at her side, and despite the odds, Zelas decided that she would fight to win. She hadn't changed out of her beast form, there was no reason to. Another fight could take place at any moment. Her ears flattened, and she bared her fangs when three figures appeared in her hall.

"You won't be able to defeat me Zelas," Deep Sea remarked coolly. Zelas' eyes shifted between Deep Sea and her two servants.

"We'll see Dolphin," Zelas growled. When she had first heard that Deep Sea Dolphin had joined with Dynast, she had been fairly surprised. She and the Dark Lord of the sea used to have a fairly reliable bond, something close to a friendship, but that changed when Zelas began getting "too involved" with worldly matters.

"Dynast and I could never figure you out," Deep Sea continued as she moved towards the large wolf creature which was Zelas. "You were always sending Xellos to do something or other; getting Garv killed, getting the Hell Master killed, getting Darkstar killed." The Dark Lord of the sea shook her head sadly. "How did we know that we wouldn't be next?"

"I guess you would have to trust me," the Greater Beast Master replied with a wolfish grin.

"I couldn't do that. I couldn't let you take control, and Dynast felt the same way," Deep Sea's eyes narrowed. "And you killed him."

"Might I remind you I had a fairly good reason to kill him."

"Enough talk!" Deep Sea snapped, and with a wave of her arm, her general and priest leapt forward. Zelas lunged at the nearest target and caught the priest's staff in her mouth. Energy exploded in her face, but she managed to tear the staff out of the way and took another snap at the monster's head. The general sliced at her flake, but Zelas didn't feel it. She continued to rip at the priest until he was dead before turning to the general.

Deep Sea Dolphin was held back by Zelas' remaining minions, but it didn't take her long to blow past them. Wolves went flying, and many perished under the force of the attack. The few that remained were too injured to move, and they whined in their pain and helplessness.

The Greater Beast caught the general's next assault in between her fangs. The blade held strong despite the bone crushing force of Zelas' jaws, and she was forced away by the general. Dolphin shot a large amount of power at Zelas, who after landing found herself having to quickly move out of the way. The explosion shook the fortress, and the general came at the Greater Beast before she could think. Her claws caught Dolphin's servant across the face, and the general clutched her wound and stumbled back. This gave Zelas enough of a break to tear through the general as she leapt at Deep Sea Dolphin.

The other Dark Lord fired another blast of energy at Zelas, who swerved, catching it in her side. Deep Sea's attack had caught her own general; Riksfalto who had been too injured to get out of the way in time. The servant of the Dark Lord of the sea dissipated, leaving only Deep Sea Dolphin and the Greater Beast.

Panting, Zelas became aware that she only had one target to worry about, so she was able to focus all her attention of the movements of her foe. Each time Deep Sea attacked, she would dodge, but it was becoming rather difficult to do so with a gaping wound in her side. Finally, she became aware that she would be unable to avoid anymore assaults, so she dashed forward, blocking an attack with one of her wings, and slashed at Dolphin with her claws, then swiftly entered the astral plane.

Deep Sea Dolphin knew what would come if she remained in the physical world, so she followed after the Greater Beast. Zelas had expected this, so she had spun around in order to take a swipe at the other Dark Lord. Their energies clashed and exploded, forcing them both out of the astral plane. Dolphin slammed against the stone wall, and Zelas smashed into the floor. Neither of them moved for some time.

When Deep Sea Dolphin began to stir, Zelas forced herself to move. Slowly, she crawled over to her enemy and closed her jaws around the other Dark Lord's neck. Deep Sea Dolphin struck out once more and caught the Greater Beast in the head. Zelas' body retook the shape of her human form, and she slid down, collapsing across Deep Sea. Her golden bracelets clicked together as she reached to touch Dolphin's features.

"Maybe… this is for the best…"

The other Dark Lord smiled faintly, her eyes closing for the final time.

Zelas was beginning to lose consciousness as her body died away. Her last thoughts reached out to her priest, and she felt herself leave the world to return to someplace she couldn't recollect.

Without the Greater Beast's energy keeping the island afloat, the land began it's descent into the waters of Demon's sea. It crashed into Deep Sea Dolphin's underwater domain, leaving nothing but ruins behind. It was Zelas' final strike against the one who murdered her.

Something was tugging at the back of his consciousness, something that Xellos never wanted to experience. His Lord's voice echoed faintly, _"Establish a connection with the dragons Xellos. This is my final wish, for the era of Dark Lords and monsters has finally come to a close."_ Her voice grew fainter and fainter until at last it was gone. The Greater Beast Master was gone.

Xellos was shaken by this realization. His eyes opened, and he looked towards the Direction of Wolfpack Island. It couldn't be.

Milgazia, now in human form, had been healing a few of the seriously wounded when he noticed the trickster's stricken state. He stopped what he was doing, and took a harder look to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Then, without a word, he left the other dragons and went over to him.

"Is there something troubling you Beast Master?" Milgazia asked solemnly.

The trickster held his head for a moment and managed to force a smile which seemed almost genuine. "Ah well, I've had a lot on my mind recently."

"So have I," the elder said. "But the look you had…"

"Not everyone can keep a straight face like you Milgazia," Xellos remarked weakly.

Realizing that he might have overstepped his boundaries, the elder backed off and allowed Xellos some breathing room, but what the trickster really wanted was proof that what he felt was true. He wanted to go to Wolfpack Island and see for himself that his lord Beast Master was really gone.

"Xellos!" A voice snapped. There was no time to react. And a dark force carved through the trickster, and Xellos found himself staggering forward in order to get away from the spell that bit into him. He mentally kicked himself for being caught of guard before turning to see who had dealt such a brilliant blow.

Norst appeared from the astral plane, panting, his eyes narrowed in anger. "I'll kill you!" he shouted, swinging his staff wildly at Xellos who took a few hits before falling to his knees. He clutched his abdomen where most of the blows had been dealt, and he knew he couldn't get away. Dynast's priest was attacking out of pure fury.

"You seem to be… in a particularly good mood today…" Xellos commented mockingly having managed to momentarily block his opponent's staff with his own staff.

"Shut up!" Norst roared as he pressed harder, and Xellos found himself struggling to keep the staff from coming down on him. "I'll make you pay! I'll make you pay for Lord Dynast's death!"

A ray of golden energy struck Norst, and while this normally wouldn't have done much damage, the wounds the priest had received from Zelas earlier caused him feel it. He lifted his staff and shot a beam of dark power through the it at the one who attacked him. Milgazia barley had time to lift his arms to defend himself before the blast hit.

Flames caught the priest who screamed and swung back around to strike at Xellos. The trickster's staff glowed blood red, and a burst of dark energy shot forward and overtook Norst who collapsed face first to the ground. The priest's hand moved slightly for his staff, but he had given it everything he had, and his body quickly dissolved away.

The small group of dragons gathered around their fallen elder, and Xellos somehow got himself to his feet, and he walk unsteadily towards them. He could barley hang onto his staff, yet he was able to make it to Milgazia's side.

A shadow past overhead, and Xellos, still in do or die mode, nearly attacked the figure who flew over them. Luckily he didn't because it was Filia, and she was probably the only one around that could heal Milgazia. She landed nearby and golden light spread out as she took on her human shape before hurrying to the elder's side. This time, Xellos was silent as she cast resurrection on the badly hurt Milgazia.

What seemed like an eternity was really only a few moments in time, and Filia sighed as she wiped her brow. "What were you thinking elder?" she asked cradling him in her lap.

Milgazia's eyes flicked open, and he took a short pause before replying. Then as he gazed up at Xellos he said, "I was thinking I would help a good ally."

Their eyes connected, monster and dragon, and Xellos dipped his head in gratitude. If Milgazia hadn't intervened, things could've become very difficult. He sighed, remembering his lord's last words to him. _"The era of Dark Lords and monsters has finally come to a close." _The Greater Beast really was gone…

"What are you going to do now Beast Master?" Milgazia asked as Filia helped him rise to his feet.

"I think I'll go to Seyruun for that ice cream cone," the trickster remarked masking his sorrow over the loss of his lord. "What about you Milgazia? Got any plans after this?"

"Not unless you invite me to come with you."

"Do you want an ice cream?"

"Yeah, I haven't had one in ages."

"Alright I'll buy."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Filia watched quietly as the elder and Xellos walked off together. She was still a little upset over the fight she had with the trickster. The other dragons still standing around seemed lost, so they turned to the ex-priestess who continued to stare after the two, then Xellos turned and called back to her, "are you coming Filia?"

The ex-priestess folded her arms and glared at him. Did he really think he could smooth things over with her so easily? But when Milgazia looked back at her questioningly, her attitude quickly changed. "Fine, you owe me for saving you earlier anyway," she said as she ran to catch up with them, and the argument of who saved who started all over again.

**_More Notes:_** Darn it! I seem to naturally write happy endings for some reason. I never intended it to end like this! Happy endings make me happy. I can't help it. Ahem. Anyway, I have another scenario playing around in my head, and I like it much better, so I'm making it another possible ending to this story.

If you're satisfied with this ending, then you might not want to read on. If you're not, then I'd strongly suggest you read the other ending I gave this fic.


	4. The Alternative ending

Author's notes: Well, if you decided to read this ending, I'll assume you didn't much care for my original ending, and I can't really blame you. I wasn't very fond of it either. Oh well. This one is a bit better I think.

**The Alternative ending**

Something was tugging at the back of his consciousness, something, but Xellos wasn't sure what it was. He scratched his head and yawned a little. Maybe he'd used more energy than he thought dealing with Dynast's irritating subordinates, though many of them had already fled the valley. It would be a waste for him to hunt them all down now, and then there was still the problem with Norst not making an appearance.

What if everything Sherra had been saying was true? Could it be that Norst and Dynast went to Wolfpack Island together to take down the Greater Beast? Xellos nearly laughed out loud at himself. Even if that did happen, his Lord Beast Master wouldn't die. She had more traps on the Island than he had secrets, and that was saying quite a bit.

"Hey Milgazia, nearly finished?" he questioned the elder. While the trickster had been spending his time sitting on a rock thinking about what his next plans were going to be, Milgazia had been healing the injured group of golden dragons in silence.

"Almost," was the elder's simple reply, and Xellos leaned back and sighed to himself. Now that the fighting was mostly over, the valley had become a lot less exciting… perhaps he could slip away to check on things back on the Island. Of course, he knew that if he didn't see this task through to the end, his lord would be angry with him.

As he took a moment to relax, something caught his eye. At first he thought that he would just blast it out of the air, but when he noticed golden scales shining in the sunlight, he stopped himself. It was Filia.

The ex-priestess transformed into her human form before going to Milgazia's side. The elder regarded her as she approached. "Why are you here Filia?" he asked solemnly.

"I thought you might need some assistance," she replied.

"Don't look now, but it seems like we've got some more company," Xellos remarked as he gestured to the figure that had appeared nearby. Finally, Norst had made his appearance. Dynast's priest was clutching his torso and grimacing in pain, yet his eyes blazed with hate. He was staring purposefully at Xellos.

"Bastard…" he snarled, raising his staff with his free hand, his wounds having been forgotten. Norst flew forward at his intended target, and the trickster found himself having to dodge fairly quickly. "You'll pay for Lord Dynast's death!"

Xellos dodged, and smirking he waggled his finger at the over zealous priest. "Now now Norst, what makes you think I had anything to do with whatever you're saying? I haven't even seen Dynast recently."

"Your lord Beast Master killed him!" Norst snapped.

"Well, that's hardly my fault now is it?"

Norst threw back his head and laughed. "Oh no, it's not your fault at all is it Metallium!?"

The trickster bristled. Mitallium was a part of his lord's name, not his. What was Norst thinking calling him by Zelas' name?

"How sad," Xellos said as he readied his staff for an assault. "You couldn't beat Lord Master, and now the best you can do is pretend that I'm the Greater Beast."

"I just thought you'd want to carry on that name since your lord; Greater Beast is dead."

Norst's words struck a blow deeper than any spell could've ever done, and Xellos' eyes widened when he remembered the feeling he had gotten only a little while before. The tiny voice that tugged at the back of his mind had been so faint, so weak. Now he knew; it had been the Greater Beast.

"Xellos! Move!" Filia shouted at him, but her voice couldn't reach him; he couldn't hear anything.

Dynast's priest didn't waste this opportunity. While Xellos remained stunned by the realization of his lord's demise, Norst launched a powerful beam of dark energy from his staff, and it struck the trickster head on. Xellos was tossed back by the attack, and a part of his body was completely torn away. He could feel the pain, and this shock snapped him back to the present. It was unfortunate he realized, smiling bitterly, that he was incapacitated for the time being. He wouldn't get a chance to strike back.

Norst moved in for the kill, his staff raised and his eyes fixated on his fallen enemy. He turned suddenly when he caught a bright light coming towards him out of the corner of his eye, and he only nearly managed to dodge the flame breath that Milgazia had fired at him. The elder moved between Dynast's Priest and Xellos, glaring defiantly at the one who had threatened his valley.

"You shouldn't have done that dragon," Norst said dangerously. He faded out and reappeared in front of Milgazia who stood unflinching under the monster's harsh stare.

"Chaotic Disintegrate!" Filia shouted as she cast the Holy spell at Dynast's priest. The attack blinded anyone from seeing anything, and Filia stood waiting breathlessly to see if her spell had hit. When the light dispersed, Norst was still standing, and his staff had gone right through Milgazia's heart.

The group of dragons were visibly shaken when they saw their elder collapse. Filia cried and covered her face. How could she have missed?

Norst laughed as he withdrew his staff and turned back to Xellos, but the monster was no longer lying there on the ground. The trickster had vanished under the cover of the Holy spell. The enemy priest's eye shifted madly in all direction, searching for his foe.

"Damn it Xellos!" he shouted angrily. "Come out and face me!"

"You bastard!" One of the dragons shouted. He tore out from his place amongst the others and charged at Dynast's priest, his claws bared and his mouth open to launch a flame breath at the monster.

Without even glancing his way, Norst raised his hand and a blast engulfed the golden dragon, turning his body to dust. The small group of dragons watched this fearfully, and when the enemy priest turned to them, they couldn't move. Norst, they knew, was going to kill them.

Before Dynast's priest could make a move, Xellos struck from the astral plane, throwing Norst to the ground. The trickster appeared, and brought his staff down through his foe, summoning an attack which left his staff and struck Norst, piercing the enemy priest in two. Norst shrieked in pain, and struggled to get away, but the injuries he had received from Zelas had weakened him. There was no chance of him surviving.

Xellos fell forward, and past through Norst who had faded to nothing. This was it, he realized. He had used all his energy to keep himself going; to kill Norst. There wasn't enough of his energy left to rebuild his body or even keep himself from disappearing from this word, yet he still had a dept to repay.

Slowly, he crawled to Milgazia's side. The elder was nearly gone. Lifeless golden orbs stared up at the sky as the last of his living blood dripped from the wound in his chest.

"Milgazia…" Xellos murmured.

Filia was standing over them, a resurrection spell glowing in her hands. She tried to use it to revive Milgazia, but it was no good. He was too far gone.

"It's too late," she whispered, tears streaking her face.

"Milgazia…" Xellos murmured again as he dragged himself over the golden dragon. "The dragons here… still need you…" He touched the elder's pale features with a gloved hand and smiled. "If you want to live… then I can help you. But… you have to want this…"

The elder's voice was drowned out by the gargle of blood. He raised an unsteady hand and Xellos gripped it. The answer had been life.

Using every shred of his remaining energy, Xellos was able to revive Milgazia. The trickster collapsed on top of the elder, his own life fading away. Finally, he could tell his lord Beast Master that he had fulfilled his obligation. He had saved the life of the Water Dragon's devote follower Milgazia.

The room was darker than it had ever been, yet he could see his lord Beast Master sitting on her chair at the top of a long flight of stairs. Everything else in the room was blurry, or too dark to see, but for some reason the Greater Beast seemed to be illuminated. He knelt respectively before her and raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Well Xellos," Zelas said as she took another puff of her cigarette. "Did you repay your debt?"

"Yes lord Beast Master." Xellos replied. "The valley is safe and so is its leader."

She smirked at him. "Is that so?" With a chuckle, she rose from her chair and slowly began descending the steps towards her servant. Her hand gently ran through her priest's hair as she curled around him. "And do you think the elder will enjoy being a half monster?"

Xellos tilted his head a little and offered up a smile. "I don't know lord Beast Master. But he did choose life. I have a feeling he's going to be alright."

**_More Notes:_** If you've ever watched the "Little Mermaid" you'd probably remember the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" that Ursula sings. Well, I found another version of that song by the Jonas Brothers. It made me think of Xellos. What? That was practically the only song I was listening to when I wrote this chapter and the last chapter; that and "They All Fall Down," by Grits. At least, from what I can remember… I spent many sleepless nights working on this fic. I'm kidding, well, sort of. Yes yes, Christian rap and beefed up Disney. What a combination. That's probably why all the Darklords and their servants ended up dead. Oh wait… I killed my favourite character! Sob.

Oh hey, but I also met my deadline. I'm even early. Heck yes!


End file.
